Scrum

Scrum is one of the most popular frameworks for implementing agile. So popular, in fact, that many people think scrum and agile are the same thing. (They're not.) Many frameworks can be used to implement agile, such as kanban for example, but scrum has a unique flavor because of the commitment to short iterations of work.

Was ist so besonders an Scrum?

With scrum, the product is built in a series of fixed-length iterations called sprints that give teams a framework for shipping software on a regular cadence. Milestones–i.e., the end of a sprint–come frequently, bringing with them a feeling of tangible progress with each cycle that focuses and energizes everyone. ("Continuous inspiration" for the win!) Short iterations also reinforce the importance of good estimation and fast feedback from tests–both recurring struggles in waterfall projects.

Drei wesentliche Rollen für den Erfolg von Scrum

A scrum team has a slightly different composition than a traditional waterfall project, with three specific roles: product owner, scrum master, and the development team. And because scrum teams are cross-functional, "the development team" includes testers, designers, and ops engineers in addition to developers.

Scrum masters are commonly mistaken for project managers, when in fact, project managers don't really have a place in the scrum methodology. A scrum team controls its own destiny and self-organizes around their work. Agile teams use pull models where the team pulls a certain amount of work off the backlog and commits to completing it that sprint, which is very effective in maintaining quality and ensuring optimum performance of the team over the long-term. Neither scrum masters nor project managers nor product owners push work to the team (which, by contrast, tends to erode both quality and morale).

Das Scrum-Team

Scrum teams are the champions for sustainable development practices. The most effective scrum teams are tight-knit, co-located, and usually 5 to 7 members. Team members have differing skill sets, and cross-train each other so no one person becomes a bottleneck in the delivery of work. All members of the team help one another to ensure a successful sprint completion.

But wait: there's more

Ok: so now you've been briefed. But understanding the philosophy of scrum and who is on a scrum team is only half of the equation. Keep reading to learn how scrum team members work together using common agile ceremonies as well as how the team in an agile program delivers work back to the business.